Method and means for removing temporary fasteners from shirts



Jul 20, 1954 2,684,188

B. V. STURZ METHOD AND MEANS FOR REMOVING TEMPORARY FASTENERS FROMSHIRTS Filed March 22, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENT R.

Ber/mm 17 an:

Jul 20 1954 2,684,188

B. V. STURZ METHOD AND MEANS FOR REMOVING TEMPORARY FASTENERS FROMSHIRTS Filed March 22, 1950 1 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

Bernard I? 631/11 #7 TOIENE Y July 20, 1954 3 v STURZ 2,684,188

METHOD AND MEANS FOR REMOVING TEMPORARY FASTENERS FROM SHIRTS FiledMarch 22. 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 1 77 new v Patented July 20, 1954 METHODAND MEANS FOR REMOVING TEM- PORARY FASTENERS FROM SHIRTS Bernard V.Sturz, Mountain Lakes, N. J.

Application March-22, 1950, Serial No. 151,229

6 Claims.

The present invention relates to a method for temporarily fastening afolded shirt'or the like, and to means for removing the temporaryfastening members from the shirt.

The present invention further relates to the method of securingtemporary fastening members, such as common or straight pins, in a mansshirt or the like, so as to retain the shirt in a folded condition,prior to use thereof, and also to means for removing the pins from theshirt when it is desired to unfold or open the shirt.

An object of the present invention is to provide a simple and efiicientmethod for removing temporary fastening members from a folded shirt.

An additional object is to provide means for removing, at one time, allof the temporary fastening members from a folded shirt.

Another object is to eliminate the laborious task of removing,individually, each of the temporary fastening members used'to secure ashirt in folded condition.

Further objects will be apparent by reference to the appendedspecifications, claims and drawings.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there are shown in theaccompanying drawings forms thereof which are at present preferred,although it is to be understood that the various instrumentalities ofwhich the invention consists can be variously arranged and organized andthat the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements andorganizations of the instruinentalities as herein shown and described.

Referring to the drawings wherein likereference characters indicate likeparts:

Figure 1 represents a front plan view .of a mans shirt, folded about acardboard support or the like, in the manner in which such shirts arecommonly sold to ultimate users.

Figure 2 represents a rear view of the folded shirt of Figure 1 with oneembodiment of the present invention secured thereto.

Figure 3 represents a rear view, partly in section, like the view ofFigure 2, showing in greater detail the fastening means of the presentinvention.

Figure 4 represents a fragmentary perspective view of one end of apin-removing tape of the present invention, with a pin secured thereto.

Figure 5 represents a rear view of a folded shirt, like the views ofFigures 2 and 3, but show ing the first step in disengaging the fastenerremoving means from the shirt; one pin having been removed from thefabric,

Figure 6 is a view like that of Figure 5, but showing thefastener-removing means still more completely disengaged from the shirt;two more pins having been removed from the shirt.

Figure 7 is a viewlike that of Figures 5 and 6;

2 the fastening-removing means of the present invention with all of thepins fully disengaged from the shirt.

Figure 8 represents a rear view of a folded shirt with a secondembodiment of the fastenerremoving'means of the present inventionsecured thereto.

Figure 9 represents a perspective view of the fastener-removing means ofthe second embodiment of the present invention, with 5 pins at tachedthereto.

Figure 10 represents a rear View of an unfolded shirt with the secondembodiment of the fastener-removing means, and complementary fasteners,disengaged from the shirt.

Figure 11 represents a partial, vertical crosssectional View along linesI!-H of Figure 8.

It is customary among manufacturers and/or jobbers and/or retailersand/or launderers of shirts and particularly mens shirts, to fold andfasten the shirts in a manner similar to that shown in Figure 1 so thatthey are readily stored, transported, handled and displayed.

Mens shirts are customarily folded about a cardboard support so that theupper portion of the bosom of the shirt and the collar portion thereofare displayed as shown in Figure 1, with the rest of the shirt neatlyfolded behind the cardboard support with the ends of theshoulderportions secured together by a temporary fastener such as acommon or straight pin or the like (as is shown particularly in Figure3) and with the lower or tail-portion of the shirt folded upwardly, asshown inFigure 2, and temporarily fastened to the rest of the shirt by aplurality of temporary fastenings such as common or straight pins.

In the past, the temporary fastenings which have secured the shirt in afolded position'about the cardboard support, have been haphazardly andindiscriminately arranged wherever and however the person doing thefolding believed a in was necessary. This indiscriminate positioning ofthe temporary fastenings on the shirt made it necessary for the ultimateuser of such a folded and fastened shirt to take extreme care whenremoving the pins-and unfolding the shirt so asto be certain to removeall of the pins and so as not to tear or otherwise injure the fabric ofthe shirt. Such injury might occur if the shirt were forcibly andcarelessly unfolded without first removing all of the pins.

Moreover, the pins have not always been readily located, and frequentlythe person unfolding the shirt has been injured by sticking his fingeron an unobserved pin.

A shirt embodying the temporary fastening means of the present'inventionmay be secured so that the folded and fastened shirt willpresent the sameappearance to the purchaser 'and'user (as shirtsheretofore available without the fastoning means of the presentinvention) but all the pins which hold the shirt together in itstemporarily folded position may be quickly, easily and simultaneouslyremoved in one motion.

Thus, a shirt 20 may be folded about a cardboard support 2! with thebosom 22 and the collar 23 on one side of the cardboard and the rest ofthe shirt folded behind the cardboard in the enstomary manner. Thus, theshoulder-portions 24 and 25 overlap at a vertical midpoint of the backof the cardboard and may be fastened together therebehind by a pin 26.

The lower portion or tail-portion of the shirt may be folded upwardlybehind the cardboard 2! along a lower fold-line 27 whereby to concealthe bulk of the folded shirt between the tailportion and the cardboardand to present a neat smooth appearance customary in folding anddisplaying shirts. The rear view of a folded shirt is generallyindicated in Figure 2. A plurality of pins 23, 29, 3t and 3! secure thetailportion of the shirt to the body-portion along the left and rightedges 32 and 33 thereof, with the end 34 of the tail-portion generallyspaced somewhat from the collar 23.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 1 to '7 inclusive, apin-remover 3'6 is fastened to each of the pins 26, 23, 29, 3t and Si,as is shown particularly in Figure 3. The pinremover as may include acentral, generally vertically disposed tape 3'! which extends from thecollar 23 along the cardboard 2i and downwardly behind the upwardlyfolded tail-portion of the shirt. Near the overlapping shoulder-portions24 and 25, a pair of tapes 38 and as are securely fastened to thecentral tape 3i and extend laterally therefrom toward the edges 32 and33. The pins 28 and 3! are secured to the ends of the tapes 33 and 39,respectively, in the manner shown in Figure 4.

Near the lower end of the center tape 3? a second pair of tapes it andii extend laterally toward the edges 32 and 33 and have secured thereto,at the ends, the pins 29 and 3!, respectively.

Where the central tape 31 crosses the overlapping shoulder-portions 2sand 25 of the shirt, the pin 26 passes through the tape 37 and is thensecured to the shoulder-portions 2 and 25, to

hold them together, with the pin 25 disposed generally vertically andthe point thereof extending toward the lower fold-line 2?.

Each of the pins 28, 29, 3B and 3! at the ends of their respectivetapes, are inserted into the fabric of the shirt near the edges 32 or 33to secure the tail-portion to the body-portion with the points thereofextending toward the lower fold-line 21 and with the body of the pingenerally parallel to the edges 32 and 33.

In this manner all of the pins are connected by the pin-remover 36 whileyet securely holding the shirt in folded position about the cardboardsupport Zl.

The cardboard support is not essential but it helps to support theshirt-fabric and makes it easier to fold the shirt.

The upper end 42 of the tape 3! may extend around and over the upperedge Q3 of the collar 23 and may have a tab 4d secured to the endthereof and disposed within the collar opening. The tab 44 may besecured to the body of the shirt by pinning, clamping, taping or anyother suitable manner whereby the tab 44 may readily be visible and in aposition to be grasped and disengaged from the shirt and held in thehand, as is shown in Figure 5.

When it is desired to remove the pins from the shirt, prior to wearingthe same, the tab 44 may be grasped between the thumb and forefinger andlifted upwardly and away from the collar 23 until the tab 44 extendsvertically upwardly from the cardboard support 2! generally parallel tothe edges 32 and 33.

Thereafter a steady, firm, upward and outward pull on the tab M willpull the central tape 31 upwardly and outwardly away from the shirt,

isengaging the pin 2%; from the overlapped shoulder portions 24 and 25and carrying the pin 26 away from the shirt, still secured to the tape37 (see Figure 5).

A continued pull on the tape Bl tightens the two lower, lateral tapestil and ll, as shown in Figure 5, until the tape 3? and the tapes toand. ii are taut enough and pulled far enough to disengage the pins 25and ill from the body of the shirt, as is shown in dotted lines inFigures 5 and 6. Although the pins 29 and 3% are removed from the fabricof the shirt, they still remain secured to the tapes it and t i.

A continued pull on the tape 3'? tightens the two upper lateral tapes 3Sand 39 until these tapes are taut enough to pull upon and disengage thepins 23 and 3d from the body of the shirt.

This upward pulling motion on the interconnesting fastener ofpin-remover 33 may be done in one smooth continuing motion so as toremove all of the pins and completely unfasten the shirt in one motion.Each of the pins 25, 28, 29, Si! and 32 are removed from the shirt,still secured to the pin-remover 36, without the necessity of the userlaboriously removing each pin individually and without injuring theshirtfabric.

Thereafter the cardboard support 2i may be removed and the shirt isready to wear.

It is to be understood that a fewer or greater number of pins and tapesmay be employed than has herein been described. However, all of the pinswould be generally parallel to each other and have a tape portionsecured thereto; said tapes each secured to a central tape so that asingle pull upon the central tape would tighten all of the pin-holdingtapes and remove from the shirt the pins secured thereto. Thus, it maybe desirable to use only the pins 23 and 38 or it may be desirable touse more than two pins along each of the edges 32 and 33.

The tapes may be of such length that all are tightened simultaneously,or they may be of lengths whereby pins are removed one at a time, but inclose succession, so that less effort is re quired to unpin the shirt.

In the present invention, the pins 26, 28, 29, 39 and 3% are disposedgenerally parallel to the edges 32 and 33, as is shown particularly inFigures 2 and 3, with all of the pointed ends thereof pointing towardthe fold-line 2?. However, the pins may each be inserted into the fabricso that a pull on the tape to which it is connected will smoothly andaxially remove the pin from the shirt.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 8 to 11 inclusive, the pins 26, 28,29, 39 and 3! are secured to the shirt 20 in much the same position asheretofore described. However, the interconnecting means between thepins is the se ondary member 45 which may be made of cardboard or fabricor the like and which is gen erally M-shaped, as shown particularly inFigure 9. This secondary member or pin-remover 45 may be a part of thecardboard support 2| or it may be a separate member secured to thecardboard H, as by fasteners 46 and 41, along the upper edge 48.

Thus, when the cardboard support 2! is in place behind the folded shirt20, the pin-remover 45 may extend downwardly from the upper edge 48 withthe left and right depending arms 49 and. 50 passing over the outersurface of the shirt, as shown in Figure 8, and with the central tab 5!depending between the overlapped shoulder-portions 24 and 25 and thefolded tail-portion of the shirt.

The pins 26, 28, 29, 3'23 and 3| may be passed through the pin-remover45 and then through the body of the shirt, as is shown in thecrosssectional view of Figure 11.

If desired, a tab 52 may be formed in the upper edge of the secondarypin-removing mem ber 45 or in the cardboard 2! to provide a means forgrasping the interconnecting support 2i and pin-remover 45, as is shownparticularly in Fig ure 10.

When it is desired to remove the pins and the pin-remover of theembodiment of Figures 8 to 11 inclusive from the shirt, the tab 52 maybe grasped between the thumb and forefinger, as is shown in Figure 10,and pulled upwardly with relation to the folded shirt 20. This pullingaction causes the pins 26, 28, 29, 30 and SI to be Withdrawn from theshirt, still secured to the pin-remover 45, and also withdraws thecardboard support 2| and permits the unfastened shirt to fall awaytherefrom, fully opened, as is 7 shown in Figure 10.

Thus, I have described a means and method for fastening a shirt in afolded position, and also interconnecting means for said fastenerswhereby all of them may be removed from the shirt easily and swiftlywithout endangering or harming the fabric of the shirt and withoutmaking it necessary for the person unfolding the shirt laboriously tosearch out and locate each and every pin holding the shirt in the foldedposition.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it istherefore desired that the present embodiments be considered in allrespects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being had to theappended claims rather than to the foregoing de scription to indicatethe scope of the invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protectby Letters Patent is the following:

1. In combination with a folded shirt, a pinconnector disposed adjacentone side of said folded shirt, a plurality of pins each secured to saidconnector generally parallel therewith and secured to said shirtgenerally parallel thereto, each of said pins being removablesubstantially simultaneously from said shirt by movement of saidconnector parallel to said side of said shirt.

2. A shirt-fastening device for temporarily holding folded portions ofshirt-fabric together including a pin-connector, a pull-tab at one endof said pin-connector, a plurality of pins carried on said connectorremote from said pull-tab, said pins disposed substantially parallel toeach other and to the plane of the connector, each of said pins beingpointed away from the pulltab end of said connector so that each of saidpins can be removed from said shirt without bending thereof on pullingsaid pull-tab when said device is Withdrawn from its operative positionholding folded portions of shirt-fabric together.

3;. A shirt-fastening device for temporarilyi holding folded portions ofshirt-fabric together including a flexible tape, a pull-tab at one endof said flexible tape, a plurality of pins carried on said tape remotefrom said pull-tab, said pins disposed substantially parallel to eachother and to the plane of the tape, each of said pins being pointed awayfrom the pull-tab end of said tape so that each of said pins can beremoved from said shirt without bending thereof on pulling said pull-tabwhen said device is withdrawn from its operative position holding foldedportions of shirt-fabric together.

4. A shirt-fastening device for temporarily holding folded portions ofshirt-fabric together including a thin perforatable shirt-support, apull-tab at one end of said thin perforatable shirt-support, a pluralityof pins carried on said shirt-support remote from said pull-tab, saidpins disposed substantially parallel to each other and to the plane ofthe shirtsupport, each of said pins being pointed away from the pull-tabend of said shirt-support so that each of said pins can be removed fromsaid shirt without bending thereof on pulling said pull-tab when saiddevice is withdrawn from its operative position holding folded portionsof shirt-fabric together.

5. The method of securing temporary fasteners to a folded shirt whichcomprises placing a pincarrying fastener connector having a pull-tab atone end thereof and carrying a plurality of pins on a portion thereofremote from said pulltab, against the folded shirt, aligning saidpulltab adjacent the neck portion of said shirt, passing each of thepins carried by said fastenerconnector through said shirt-fabric in adirection generally parallel to the vertical axis of the shirt with thepoints of said pins directed away from the pull-tab.

6. The method of securing temporary fasteners to a folded shirt and ofremoving said fasteners substantially simultaneously from said shirtwhich comprises placing a pin-carrying fastenerconnector having apull-tab at one end thereof and carrying a plurality of pins on aportion thereof remote from said pull-tab, against the folded shirt,aligning said pull-tab adjacent the neck portion of said shirt, passingeach of the pins carried by said fastener-connector through saidshirt-fabric in a direction generally parallel to the vertical axis ofthe shirt with the points of said pins directed away from the pulltab,and thereafter substantially simultaneously removing said pins from saidshirt by pulling on the pull-tab of said fastener-connector andwithdrawing said pins from said shirt without bending said pins.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PAIL NTSNumber Name Date 653,152 Roeber July 3, 1900 759,614 Kaufman May 10,1904 930,604 Moore Aug. 10, 1909 1,906,472 Liebowitz May 2, 1933

